King of the Court
by LilweenGalatrass
Summary: Kageyama Tobio was a genius. He only wanted to be the best setter and to get along with his teammates. When he started being called 'the King of the Court', he obviously thought that his teammates were finally acknowledging him... He was wrong. ONE-SHOT


_A one-shot I had been thinking about for a long while. How Kageyama became aware that he was being called the 'King of the Court'..._  


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FANFICTION

HAIKYUU! : KING OF THE COURT

ONE-SHOT

Kageyama Tobio watched from the seats Kitagawa Daiichi's team playing their best, lead by Oikawa Tooru. Tobio's eyes were wide in awe, not quite believing that such an amazing player, such a skilled setter was on the same team as him. Without surprise but much pride, Oikawa won the prize of best setter of the prefecture and Kageyama started looking up at the third-year. He was his model. He wanted to become a player like Oikawa someday.

 _One day… I'll be the best setter_ … He thought to himself.

Kageyama was nowhere near Oikawa's level but he rose, getting better and better without needing much practice. He was naturally made for volleyball. He was a genius. Tobio was too innocent to understand that some people – senpai, teammates – were watching him with nothing else but envy and jealousy simply because of his status of 'genius' and 'future setter'. The one thing Tobio was aware of was that if everyone looked at him, they mostly hoped great things for him – for him to become a great setter and there was nothing he wouldn't want more than that. It was his goal after all – to become the best setter, to surpass his model, Oikawa Tooru.

Time went by and once Oikawa, Iwaizumi and the rest of the third-years moved to high-school, the focus of the volleyball club turned towards Kageyama and his incredible talent. Quickly, the future team of Kitagawa Daiichi started forming with a trio particularly talented made of Kageyama, Kindaichi and Kunimi. Everyone expected them to be the core of the team by the end of their Junior School years. Everyone expected them to become the best players, to win the Nationals and to move up to high-school – probably Aoba Jousai, like most Kitaichi's players.

Kageyama wanted to get better – not only to prove himself that he _could_ become the best setter – but because… it sounded _so good_. Winning the Nationals. Being the absolute best. He _wanted_ to be the best, he _wanted_ to win the Nationals.

"The hell Kageyama?!" Kindaichi shouted as he landed on the ground after an attempt at a spike, "Don't toss so fast! I can't keep up!" He exclaimed, glaring in annoyance at his teammate.

Kageyama blinked, frowning lightly in intense focus and turning completely towards Kindaichi to answer:

"The best way to avoid a block is with a quick – the faster the toss, the better! If you want to avoid the block and spike freely, be faster, jump higher!"

"Tch…"

Kindaichi turned around after Kunimi put a hand on his shoulder. Kageyama turned back towards the next spiker, knowing damn well that _he_ was right. The faster the toss, the better. At their last practice match, they had almost always been caught by the opposite team's wall – they needed to synch with a faster quick. Or they couldn't win the Nationals.

And so, Kageyama Tobio practiced more, more intensely, longer – far longer and far more intensely than any of his teammate. He practiced his serves, his tosses even if there wasn't anyone to spike it. He found out that he had a good way of practicing by using empty bottles and trying to aim his tosses at them. It was the best he could do but his natural talent that had been blossoming was now shining like a flower made of diamond.

"Kageyama really is cut out to be a setter." A coach said.

"Mmm, he has a habit of focusing too much on his own pace but he is truly promising. His tosses, spikes, blocks, even serves are much better than anyone else on the team."

"He truly is a genius!"

Tobio, now aware that people considered him a genius and great setter, only wanted to please others. He wanted to make his family, his coaches proud. He wanted Oikawa to hear about him even in his high-school and to know that his kouhai was becoming a setter as great as him. He wanted his teammates to have the same satisfied, blissful look on their faces when they spiked his toss as Oikawa's spikers had.

Kageyama just wanted to play volleyball to its best.

Everything he did and practiced was mastered quickly and perfectly. There was just one thing he couldn't get right: the fundamentals of a setter. Technically speaking, his skills were on spot – he was a great setter already. But he wasn't the _best_ – he couldn't be until he could look at his teammates' faces and see bliss on their expression. He couldn't be until he managed to figure out what his teammates were thinking of his tosses. The one thing Tobio couldn't get right no matter how hard he tried was _communication_.

And was he trying… He always went to his teammates' sides, talking with them and trying to befriend them but he was just no good with human interactions – he knew it, and he was pretty sure that his teammates had figured it out by now and were used to it. They knew, right…?

Kindaichi and Kunimi were chatting in a corner, laughing and smiling about whatever they were talking about. A little nervous but wanting to get closer to his teammates who were the closest thing to friend he had, Kageyama approached them with a volley ball.

"Hey…" He called to them.

Both Kindaichi and Kunimi turned around and because Kageyama wasn't sure what to say or what to talk about, he lifted up his ball.

"Do you… want to practice with me?" He asked.

They all loved volleyball so surely, they'd want to. Right?

"We're taking a break now…" Kindaichi said, looking a little bit annoyed, "Not all of us has your stamina y'know…"

"Ah… sorry…" Kageyama apologized, bowing lightly and turning around.

He blinked to himself, watching the ball in his hands. Didn't they want to practice to get better? They wouldn't win if they didn't get better…

Kageyama glanced around but everyone was gathered in little groups of two or three, laughing and chatting. He felt left out but he didn't want to bother anyone so he just went in a corner of a gymnasium and practiced against the wall, hearing the laughter in the distance.

He tried many times to get to know people better but everytime he'd approach his teammates, they'd shut up and stare at him, waiting for him to talk. Not knowing what to talk about, Tobio always proposed to practice because it was the only one thing he was good at… but they always refused.

"Ah, Kindaichi, Kunimi!" He called when he saw his two teammates walking out of the gymnasium, "Could we… uh… practice a bit?" He asked.

Kindaichi huffed annoyingly and it was Kunimi who answered calmly, but his gaze firm:

"We're going home. Tomorrow, maybe."

"A-ah, ok… See you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah…"

They left and Kageyama faced the empty court once again. And he practiced alone again. He was used to it by now…

Some time later, Kageyama was about to enter the changing-room before practice but he stopped when he heard his teammates voices.

"Kageyama is kind of… like the 'King of the Court', y'know?" Kindaichi said.

Tobio remained frozen behind the door, his heart fastening in his chest. The King of the Court? It sounded so cool! S-so great! Did it mean that his teammates were finally opening up to him? That they'd accept him?

He entered the changing-room with a happy smile, impatient to start practicing while the entire room turned silent.

"Oosss!" He exclaimed eagerly.

"O-ooss…" They answered hesitantly.

Kindaichi and Kunimi glanced at each other, wondering if Kageyama had heard them. But he didn't seem to – otherwise, he wouldn't look so happy…

Practice went as usual, with an overly joyful Kageyama which threw off his teammates. But when his tosses became just as reckless as usual, it annoyed even more the spikers – and especially Kindaichi.

"Stop sending these impossible tosses!" He exclaimed when he barely managed to spike the toss in.

"Match my tosses! Run faster, jump higher! With my toss, I'll win and go to the Nationals!" Kageyama exclaimed, frowning lightly because he couldn't understand why Kindaichi wouldn't try _harder_.

Furious, Kindaichi opened his lips, fists clenched tightly but Kunimi put a hand on his shoulder with a light shake of his head.

"Let it go… there's no need arguing with him…" He said.

"Tch…"

Kageyama didn't understand and he tilted his head on a side, watching them go away, murmuring to each other and sending him glances every once in a while.

Tobio tried focusing on practice, but Kindaichi's sentence earlier kept haunting him.

" _Kageyama is kind of… like the 'King of the Court'"_

It meant they were opening up to him, _right?_

At the end of practice, Tobio watched everyone leave one by one, half-hoping someone would stay and practice with him. But as usual, no one did and he was left alone. He glanced at the cart full of volley balls, approaching it and taking a ball in his hands. What was it he did wrong?

Noticing a pair of kneepads left there, Tobio hesitated before deciding to bring them back to the changing-room – it was best than have someone panic while trying to find them. He took them to bring them back, running, eager to prove his teammates that he thought about them too. But his steps slowed down to a stop when he heard the third-years' conversation – about him, once again.

" _'Run faster!', 'Jump higher!', 'Do this, do that! I know best!'_ Tch! Who does he think he is?!" Kindaichi exclaimed.

"You should be used to it by now…" Kunimi answered.

"You're very brave to put up with Kageyama all the time, Kindaichi," one of their teammate said, tone laughing.

"Tch, I don't _put up_ with him – he's so _annoying!_ _Always_ asking to practice, _always_ practicing! Can't he see he's the _only one_ who can keep up with his ridiculous, reckless tosses?! They're impossible to hit – what's the point?!"

"He's a good player, but he's not cut out to be a setter." Someone said.

 _Uh? What… what are they talking about…?_ Kageyama thought to himself, eyes wide while fear was starting to turn his blood cold.

" _Exactly!_ He's the worst setter if he can't open up to people!"

"That's why he's the King – he only thinks about _himself_ , he rules the court like a dictator, thinking himself above everyone else! That damn egocentric king!" Kindaichi exclaimed.

The kneepads slipped from Tobio's fingers and he took a step backwards. No one heard a thing and they continued swearing about his very existence, cursing his tosses, cursing his way of being.

" _Kageyama is kind of… like the 'King of the Court'"_

" _That damn egocentric king!"_

He had been wrong. He had it all wrong. They didn't open up to him – they closed up. They didn't like him, they didn't like his tosses. They thought of him as a ruler without mercy who didn't consider others.

Tobio felt as if all of his hopes, his desire to be accepted by his teammates, shattered into thousands of shards biting into his flesh. He felt as if, rather than shut out from others, he was now standing away from his teammates, with a crack on the verge of opening up between the others and him. He could only watch them from afar, he'd scream but no one would hear him. Even if they did, they'd only glance at him bitterly and ignore his screams. _He had been so wrong…_

The door suddenly opened, making the young setter startle. He looked up with wide eyes, right into Kunimi's ones. Kindaichi was just behind and the others quickly understood that Kageyama had heard everything they had said.

"Kageyama…" Kunimi murmured, shocked to see him outside the changing-room.

Before anyone could say a thing, Tobio whipped around and left angrily, turning his hands into fists and clenching his jaw so hard, it managed to hold back the burning tears in his eyes.

"Oi, Kageyama!" Kindaichi called, not quite knowing what to do about this situation.

It was a thing to talk about Kageyama, it was another that the ignorant setter knew what they really thought about him. He had a bad character to begin with, if he learned of his nickname of 'King of the Court', practice would be hell…

He took a step forward but stopped when he stepped on something. He leaned down and grabbed a pair of kneepads…

"I had forgotten my kneepads… Did Kageyama bring them back?" Kunimi asked, reaching for the kneepads.

Kunimi glanced at the gymnasium where Kageyama had run away, wondering if they hadn't gone too far. Kindaichi clenched his fists then huffed stubbornly.

"Who cares about this selfish king anyway!" He declared, stomping away in annoyance.

Kunimi stared at his friend then followed, everyone going away and glancing, uneasy, at the light coming from the gymnasium. For once, they didn't hear the sound of ball hitting the court.

Kageyama was curled up in a corner of the gymnasium, trying to hold back his sobs and tears so much that his entire body was shaking.

 _He had been so wrong…_

 _The next day, at practice…_

Kindaichi clicked his tongue when a much too fast toss was sent his way. He hit it and it somehow managed to get over the net. As soon as he landed, though, Kageyama spun around angrily.

"Run faster! Jump higher!" He ordered, sounding much short-tempered than he used to but he couldn't help it.

"Tch…" Kindaichi huffed, turning away from him, "Selfish king…" He muttered to himself.

When Tobio heard that, the wave of hurt he had felt the previous evening hit him all over again. He clenched his fists and jaw, trying hard not to cry or let any emotion being shown. His body shook and he glanced over his shoulder at his teammate. The hurt had turned into an insult and shame. Not knowing how to handle all of these emotions, Tobio only focused on the one he understood best: anger.

"What did you say…?!" He growled.

It attracted Kindaichi's attention who turned back, trying to appear threatening.

"Uh? You've got a problem, Your Majesty?!"

Tension sparkled and everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the two third-years glaring at each other viciously.

"Oi, what's happening?" The coach asked, frowning.

Kageyama and Kindaichi glared at each other a little more before turning away, clicking their tongues and clenching their fists.

"Nothing, sir," Kunimi answered to try and calm things.

But the crack was open. It could only get wider.

Hurt, ashamed, insulted Tobio became bitter and angry. At his teammates for not trying to understand him whenever he remarked on their jumps and spikes. At himself for not being better with people. For not being the best setter. He didn't realize it then, but mixed up with all of these emotions, there was also fear – the fear he wasn't good enough, that he'd _never_ be enough, that he'd fail, that he'd _never_ become the best setter, that he'd _never_ find anyone to spike his toss with a blissful expression…

Kageyama Tobio was a genius without equal. If not the best, he was a great setter. And now, he had received a new title from his own teammates. Kageyama Tobio had been crowned _King of the Court._

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 _We all know what happened later between the KitaIchi trio. I'm not really satisfied with this one-shot so I might re-write it someday..._

 _Thanks for reading this one-shot! :D_

 _Don't hesitate to tell me what you think! :D_

 _Yours Truly,_

 _May_


End file.
